Wow, what a book this was to read. Utterly captivated you from the off with lots of twists and turns that leaves you wondering which direction the author is taking you. Great characters a fantastic storyline what more is there to say other than highly recommended!

The first half of this book dragged and then BAM! Everything happened all at once! I enjoyed the latter part of the book even though I could tell who the killer was from a mile away. But, there are so many layers to this story that it still ended up surprising me.

Is it just me or did anyone else notice, the first half of the book, the author kept incorporating the word flicker. Maybe it’s just a coincidence or maybe it was their favourite word, after all the book is titled A Flicker in the Dark. 🤣

Unreliable narrators is one of my favourite tropes so of course I picked this up. I got a free copy of this book from NetGalley but it no way affects my review of it.

Chloe Davis’ father is a serial killer. He was convicted and jailed when she was twelve but the bodies of the girls were never found, seemingly lost in the surrounding Louisiana swamps. The case became notorious and Chloe’s family was destroyed. Chloe has rebuilt her life. She’s a respected psychologist in Baton Rouge and has a loving fiancé. It is the anniversary of her father’s crimes, and Chloe is about to see her worst fears come true – a girl she knows goes missing.
The nightmare has started again
A well written debut novel. A slow start to the book & it was only in the last third when things happened, much of the first half is spent inside Chloe’s head & I had difficulty knowing what was real or what Chloe thought was real as she drank, a lot & self medicated on prescription drugs. The book was on the dark side & a little too much for me, the revelations & how everything came together saved the book but it wasn't a light read & took me over a week to read as I kept delving in then leaving to read something lighter only needing to go back & see how things were resolved
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

A thriller with the unreliable narrator to keep you guessing. A bit predictable but overall a tense read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

If you’re going to write a debut novel this is the way to do it. Yes, I did work one part out but I really didn’t see the other twists coming. It was also a refreshing change to read about a serial killer from a close family members side, in this case the daughter. It didn’t get out of hand/over the top like so many do and the ending wasn’t slushy. Anyone who enjoys a good mystery/thriller will enjoy this page turner. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, Harper Fiction for letting me read and review this book.

I found it really difficult to get into this book, but once I did, i was gripped. Scared intrigued and left guessing.

Yes, yes, yes. Everything about this book was unreal, i thought i know all along who done what and I hated Daniel but boy was I wrong, I loved that i couldnt guess who was actually behind the killings, i felt sorry for Sophia that she felt so lost and scared in the midst of it all but im glad she got out the other side

i am yet to see a bad review of this book and i just know its going to do amazing

6/10

An above average thriller, if not a little obvious in places, that never provided the suspense it was aiming for. As a debut novel it certainly wasn’t the worst attempt but the signposts were there throughout making this one of the rare occasions I knew what was going on early doors rather than my usual second guessing at every chapter end.

The main character is your classic unreliable drug/alcohol induced troubled/flawed character which is very much mainstream over the last 10/15 years (maybe more but only that long to me) with the usual selection of bad/knobhead relatives and acquaintances. The writing was good enough to keep me reading although it was never out of the generic thriller category to make me desperate to read that next chapter.

If things weren’t signposted as obvious and there were a few less cliches throughout then I would have rated this higher but as a debut novel there was plenty of positives for going into a future novel from this author.

Chloe is trying to move on from the horror of her past. A serial killer father and a mother who tried to kill herself, means she is really messed up. Self medication means she is not making the right decisions. Everyone is not who they say they are. Who is the copy cat killer? I found the main character annoying. but the storyline is interesting.

Review to be posted on my bookstagram 30/01/22
Goodreads review posted 29/01/22
Amazon review to be posted 03/02/22

My thoughts:
- I enjoyed the storyline & found the characters & suspects intriguing
- I liked how it was written with the switches in timeline from past & present
- Unreliable narrative - I love it when you can’t trust anyone!

Dislikes:
- The pace was all over the show, I found the middle/end dragged a little
- I wanted more of an explanation about the culprit- towards the end it felt like time was spent on the wrong points. I can’t really give more away without spoiling it!
Side note - I didn’t know the work ‘flicker’ could be used so much in a book 😬

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was a fairly easy read, not too dark or overly description. A gentle psychological thriller (if there’s such a thing 😂) I’d definitely be up for checking out future books by this author.

This is an enjoyable twisty mystery but I found it rather predictable and not the most original book of its type. Still a decent read though and I would certainly recommend it to fans of the genre.

A great debut novel. Not the most original storyline but it keeps you reading. Well paced, dark thriller with plenty of twists and turns. Yes you may realise who it is or not but still an enjoyable read to the end

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an Arc in exchange for an honest opinion

I am not surprised there is a film following this very impressive first novel from Stacy Willingham.. It is a gripping, dramatic thriller with so many twists that made it impossible to put down. Just when I thought I knew what who was responsible for the killings, another facet was thrown into the mix and we were kept guessing to the end.

Very creepy from the outset, the perspective of a family member of an accused murderer is one I haven't seen much before but was a really interesting premise, with severe ramifications on Chloe''s life, such as mental illness and trust issues. Chloe is an intriguing character, leading me to be constantly questioning throughout - whodunnit? Is Chloe crazy? Where is this going next? Plenty of jaw dropping twists, with multiple shocking reveals, and the Louisiana summer adding extra claustrophobic tension with the muggy atmosphere. Most of the secondary characters are really well developed (Daniel, Aaron), but others weren't as striking (Shannon, Cooper), but Chloe is where the characterization shines here.
It's easy to see how this will translate to screen and I can see why there is so much buzz about it - it took me several days to calm down after finishing it!

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

this one is destined to be a limited series with actress emma stone taking part, its not a bad read...i was torn between two people as to who could be the murderer and there were plenty of red herrings galore and it will keep you up till late just wondering who it could be...

the summer that chloe davis is 12 is also the summer that 6 teenage girls go missing, by the end of that summer chloes father is arrested and sent to prison for it

now 20 years later more girls go missing, a copycat of her fathers murders or is there something more sinister going on...

for a debut book its not a bad one at all...

What a great debut novel. I’ve seen a fair bit of hype around this book which always concerns me but no need. It’s all true. The story revolves around, and is narrated by Chloe Davis; at the age of 12 living in the Crayfish capital of the world, and 20 years later, a successful psychologist living in Baton Rouge. This little place in the Bayou certainly has more than it’s fair share of psychopaths and serial killers! Very well written with a good, well developed storyline that I enjoyed a lot.

Briefly, when 6 teenage girls go missing Chloe’s father is arrested and imprisoned for their murders, even though the bodies aren’t found. Twenty years later Chloe and her brother have made new lives for themselves, and Chloe is getting married soon. However, Chloe is fragile and self medicating and when teenage girls start going missing again and they appear to have a connection to Stacy she determines to find out who is kidnapping them. Is it a copycat killer?

In the spirit of disclosure I did guess one of the big twists at the end of the book but not the other. And the red herrings were so good I completely doubted myself and changed my mind more than once. The first half was quite slow, building the characters and the tension but it ramps up a notch in the second half and I began to suspect everyone. A very good read and ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

As I was reading a Flicker in the Dark I thought I knew exactly where it was going and that by half way through I had all the characters pegged and knew exactly who was responsible for what. I was wrong.

Chloe Davies is living her life under the shadow of being a serial killer's daughter. She is a trained and practicing psychologist but that doesn't seem to mean she can help herself as we also quickly learn she has a substance abuse issue and is acting in a way that would almost certainly lose her license if she was discovered.

Who can she trust? What is real and what is just going on in her head?

Such a good read and once you get in to it there's no putting it down.

I struggled with this book a bit if I’m honest. The whole idea sounded great but I just felt it dragged a bit and struggled to keep my attention

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. This is the story of psychiatrist Dr Chloe Davis. When she was 12, teenage girls started to go missing where she lived. Eventually her dad was arrested and put in prison for those crimes. Nearly 20 years later girls are starting to go missing again and those memories start to resurface. Chloe feels that she is the common denominator and starts to feel paranoid and untrusting of those around her.

This was a fast paced thriller that was really enjoyable. I really liked the character of Chloe but the author has relied heavily on the drink and drugs trope that’s makes the main character unreliable. There were lots of suspects but I guessed who was responsible not too far into the story. The author did a really good job of convincing me that I had got it wrong and I did change my mind thinking that it couldn’t now possibly be who I thought it was at the beginning. There were lots of twists and turns and I thought a couple of things that did not get explained. I don’t know if I just missed them because toward the end of the book I was just ready for the reveal so was reading it faster than I normally do just to finish the book. I will definitely be looking out for more by this author.

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham is a tense, dark, thriller set in an oppressively humid Louisiana atmosphere that delivers some jaw-dropping twists.

Chloe Davis is a psychologist preparing to get married to Daniel; she works in her own practice in Baton Rouge a good distance away from the small town where a number of young girls disappeared as she was growing up. Her memories of these events still haunt her and cause her to make some dubious decisions. She is reminded by a journalist that the 20 year anniversary is approaching but Chloe does not want to talk about it.

When another girl goes missing, Chloe is drawn back into the events of 20 years ago as she tries to figure out who could be responsible.

I was hooked by this thriller after a few pages and though I thought I had figured out who the killer was, I had to change my mind quite a few times!! Highly recommended reading.